


In Fire & Blood

by Clexa0216



Category: Lexark - Fandom, QTWD, clexa - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, CLEXA LIVES ON THROUGH EVERY UNIVERSE IN EVERY LIFETIME, Canon Divergence, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Picks up after the Alicia and jake scene in s305, alternate universe - QTWD, lexark, qtwd - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2018-11-19 15:56:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11316714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clexa0216/pseuds/Clexa0216
Summary: It's been a few weeks since civilization started crumpling and the dead began rising. Those who are still surviving, must face numerous issues in the face of the apocalypse. In a world where normal is now nonexistent, Alicia Clark struggles to find herself amidst all the chaos between the living and the dead. After meeting Elyza Lex, the two of them fight for their lives, their survival, their friends, and each other but is just surviving enough despite the lack of 'normalcy?'





	1. some for ya nerve

It's been a few days since their arrival at Broke Jaw Ranch but if Alicia were being honest, it felt more like months. With the undead roaming the earth, the lack of entertainment was certainly starting to get to her. But her new found friends at this ranch definitely brought some relief. Alicia would spend whatever free time she could at her "bible studies", and occasionally having fun with Jake. He was sweet, but she wasn't entirely sure what she felt for him. The emotions of the loss and pain she's been feeling was still gnawing at her heart. 

Alicia sighed and stood up off the bed, pushing Jakes sleeping form slightly off of her. Pulling her clothes and boots on, she starts heading out before hearing jake call her name.

"Stay, Alicia." He grunted, evidently half asleep. It was probably around midnight, but she knew Gretchen and the others were in the hangout spot. At least she hoped so. 

"Can't. I promised Gretchen I'd show up, I'll see you later on today though."

Jake didn't respond, his breath evened out and Alicia let out a sigh. She had never been the type of girl to just mess around, she usually dated guys first. But she liked Jake. She must've if she slept with him. He was sweet. 

Alicia made her way to the underground spot. Once inside, she plopped herself on the couch just as one of the guys passed the bong to her. "Looks like you need it more than I do right now." 

Alicia took it and immediately took a few hits. She had smoked a few times before this mess started, but not enough to build up a tolerance. She didn't want the possibility of it affecting her chances into Berkeley.

She felt a pang in her chest right as she exhaled some of the air and passed the bong back. 

"Where do you guys even get so much of this stuff anyways?" Alicia asked, her head falling back as her eyes shut, her body finally relaxing from the days work and lost sex activities. The effects were already helping her ease the tension on her shoulders. 

Gretchen giggled, clearly way higher than Alicia was at the moment. 

"Trade. Technically, we are the second camp that gets supplies but we all trade with one another. We trade vegetables and crop, in exchange we get water, soap and-" she said lifting a little bag full of the green herbs"- some of this too. We should relax every now and then you know." She paused, "at least when it's safe." 

Alicia perked up at the sound of multiple camps. "So are we like not independent?" 

"Technically, it was own whole community. But people just decided it was best to spread out and have each other as backup camps in case one of them was overrun by the infected or looters. There was too much hoarded supply it seemed a little safer this way." 

Gretchen took another hit and coughed pushing it against Terry's chest who shook his head and passed it to Gabe. 

"Really they're not that far out. Main base is probably 20 minutes away? They usually come once a week." She paused before coming her head slightly, brows meeting in a small furrow. "I'm surprised they haven't came. We go through a process inspecting people before allowing them, but I'm guessing the whole thing with the chopper attack has them busy."

"So they what, provide our guns too?" Alicia was definitely feeling way higher now. 

Gabe nodded, "We need to defend ourselves so we coexist and share with each other. Jeremiah agreed to use his camp as a part of their group since the whole point is to survive and build a better future. They've been planning this for years apparently."

Alicia rolled her eyes at that and muttered slightly, the words leaving her mouth before she could stop them. "Like that's even possible anymore." 

They spent a few more hours there talking about their previous lives before finally deciding to call it a night. 

Alicia made her way to her cabin. Nick was in the infirmary with Luciana and her mom was set to arrive later on today or tomorrow. She had the cabin to herself. It was dark and lonely, the silence was loud. Heavy. Alicia felt like her mind was going 100 miles an hour racing with thoughts. She groaned and threw off her clothes pulling a plain white T on and some shorts. She was used to sleeping in just a loose T shirt but sharing with her mother and brother didn't make her feel comfortable enough to do so. 

Alicia layed, one arm across her face, a blanket half covering her. Sleep evades her until dawn, when the sun started peeking from the clouds. 


	2. elyza lex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alicia's mom comes back. Someone gets injured, and we meet Elyza Lex and the gang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> s4 ending Clarke is Elyza Lex you can't tell me otherwise

Alicia woke with a slight jump at the sudden noise of the door slamming, her eyes fluttering at the brief sunlight that flickered through the door. Nick walked in, eye bags dark under his eyes and plopped himself facedown on the messy bed adjacent to Alicia's. 

With a soft sigh, Alicia pulled herself up and grabbed a pair of dark jeans and one of her flannels.

"You should probably change or shower, Luciana sure as hell isn't gonna want to be around you if you still smell like that." 

"Later." Nick grunted into the pillow. "I think mom is back by the way."

Alicia changed quickly in the small restroom of their cabin and made her way out to look for her mom. 

The sun blazed, a light sheet of sweat began forming on Alicia's forehead as she strolled down to the eating area.  
Maybe wearing a flannel wasn't such a good idea, the day definitely felt hotter than the previous days. The camp was awake with activity. The sound of people eating, talking and laughing amongst themselves, getting the days work done filled the air. It almost sounded normal, _almost_. she internally scoffed. 

Alicia spotted her mom who was deep in conversation with Jeremiah at the wooden gate of the ranch's entrance. As soon as Madison noticed Alicia approaching them, whatever discussion Jeremiah and Madison might've been having, was immediately dropped. Jeremiah gave Alicia a tight smile before making his way to the stables, leaving the pair to catch up.

"Did you find anything out there? The group or.. " The implication of what Alicia was asking weighed heavy in the air; aside from the missing groups, if there was any sign of Travis's body, of the shooters. They hadn't really spoken about Travis's death since her mother found out. For some reason, it felt better to just keep going on. Keep trying to survive. They didn't make it all this way, didn't lose Travis, to lose themselves and not survive. 

Alicia didn't kill a man, to not survive. The thought quickly came and went, before Alicia pushed it to the back of her mind. It felt better to not deal with it. Not think about it. 

"No." Said Madison as she leaned against the wooden gate, "Jeremiah said it's best to just stay put. That we should have more help soon, and we'll send another search party to see what we find." Madison looked away briefly, before turning back to look at her daughter. 

"So when is the help coming." 

"Later. C'mon let's go eat" Madison straightened, nodding towards the eating area.

"Wait," Alicia pulled her mothers arm slightly, bringing her to a pause before facing her, "you're going back out there aren't you." It wasn't a question. 

"Alicia." Her tone slightly harder with the implication that there's no discussing the topic. Madison paused, searching for something in her daughters eyes, before continuing. "I know you're worried, but don't be. I'll be fine. I'll come back to you and Nick." 

Alicia pushed the worry away and simply nodded in silent acquiescence as they silently made their way to the tables. God, what a mess the world had turned to. Her mother, a high school councilor now risking her life fighting infected, trying to get a sociopath on their side for protection. Alicia, a seventeen year old ex high school student.. now a what, a murderer? She killed a man, it makes her a murderer, right? How did she get from planning a future with Matt, a future graduating from UC Berkeley, to _THIS_?

After grabbing some plates of food, they made their way to the wooden picnic tables and chose one in the center. Across from Alicia, a few tables down was Jake and Troy eating a meal of their own. Jake looked up, catching Alicia's eye before giving her a small smile. Alicia hesitated before returning it. Madison was quick to see this.

"You like him?" She probed, searching for a reaction in Alicia's face. 

Alicia paused, before answering. She hasn't gotten a grasp on who exactly Jake Otto is. He seemed kind and genuine, she had to admit he definitely had charm but so did Jack. The survivalist in her since the moments of the outbreak have made her more skeptical and wary of others, especially those whom are being too kind, too fast. Trust has become a commodity that must be guarded at all times these days. 

"He's nice." Her response is haste, before pausing briefly again. Matt infiltrating her thoughts, "Been in love. This isn't it."

She looks up, and Madison gives her a soft small half smile. "It creeps up on you."

Somehow Alicia doubts that, but swallows the thick knot that began forming in her throat. How she cannot see that the bible study nights, the fling with Jake, might just be more of a search for feeling normalcy in this shitty world? How she still can't SEE Alicia.. 

Alicia shook her head slightly. "Besides," she continues, "Its good to keep them close by. We need allies, protection. We can't trust people, but we can get them to trust us."

Madison's smile slightly falters, but accepts the change of topic and decides not to continue. Alicia was right, they needed to get the Otto's to trust them. 

Alicia looked back over to see Jake staring at her again. She smiled at him, remembering to maintain composure. Jake took this as a sign, and stood off the table, walking towards them to sit across from Alicia. 

He sat down, placing his plate in front of him. "We should be receiving more ammo today." He said, placing what appeared to be a small black handheld radio on the table. Jake checked his wrist watch for the time and turned a small knob. The radio instantly crackled to life for half a second before going quite. "We leave it on for five minutes, everyday at this time in case the other camp needs to communicate with us." 

"How far is the other camp?" 

"Depends how fast you're going, 15-20 minutes really. Few miles north. This baby," he says picking up the radio and wiggling it in the air." Reaches up to 20 miles. It's one of the best on the market. When we started this survivalist camp years ago we went on a hunt for the best products possible." 

"So what if the battery runs out." Madison asks, her eyes trained on the radio. Alicia can almost see her mothers mind running. 

"Well, we barter for batteries. But we have a bunch of these and we just trade them out while the dead ones charge. We try to save battery as well, turning it on twice a day for five minutes."

Jake placed the radio backed down and took a bite out of his hotdog. He groaned in pleasure, "Thank god these haven't expired," he said, wiping a drop of ketchup from his lip. "Once these are gone, it'll be a cool while before we enjoy a good ol' hotdog." 

Alicia finished her plate quickly and pushed herself up, eyeing Jake in a silent question to follow her. Jake stood, taking their plates to the cleaning station before following Alicia to across the camp to the edge. 

Alicia paused and looked at Jake, then at the rifle he had hanging on his back by a strap and nodded towards it. "Will you teach me?"

Jake followed her eyesight to his own rifle, before hesitantly looking back at her. "Alicia you're safe here."

Alicia shook her head, "I can only do so much with a knife I should at least know the basics." She mumbled, irritation in her voice as she turned to keep walking. 

Jake pulled her arm but right as she turned to face him, the radio hanging on his right side crackled to life and the sound of a garbled feminine voice blared through the walkie talkie. 

Jake pulled it up to his lips, pressing one of the side buttons before responding. "Lindz, what is it?"

 _"Bastards shot - Mike."_ the sound of air whistled through the radio interference as the message got cut off before continuing. _"Closer to you than the main camp. Be there in 5, get us some medical help"_

"On it. Did you bring ammo." Jake responded, Alicia following behind Jake as they turned towards the cabin where his dad was in. "My dad is going to want to hear about this. The militia will want to help." 

_"We'll figure" - "out. Lex said we'll send scouts - soon as we arrive."_

Jake started sprinting towards the cabin where they found Jeremiah and Madison talking. Realizing the look of panic on their face, almost out of breath from the sprint across the camp, they stood up instantaneously.

"Jake, what is it." The balding old man walked toward Jake, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"Lex and the group will be here soon. One of them is shot, they need medical help." 

Jeremiah nodded and headed out toward the infirmary, with the rest trailing behind. The infirmary was a slightly bigger looking cabin, with a couple of twin beds spread out. To the far right, what looked like a cot that was used as a surgery table given the supplies that surrounded it. Medical supplies were scarce and had to be used accordingly, but the only person in the infirmary was Luciana who laid at the farthest bed with a arm thrown over her face. 

Jeremiah spoke with the two men who appeared to be the doctors of the ranch as Alicia and Jake pushed their way out the door. 

The wooden gate at the entrance of the ranch was visible from where they were standing. The sun was still high and blazing, the lack of shade definitely making it more difficult just standing. Jake stood still watching from afar as Troy made his way to the gate. 

Alicia looked at Jake, brow furrowed as he was deep in thought. "What is it?" She said, chancing a glance at the gate before looking back at him.

Jake shook his head, "It's just, that's two already." He looked back at her, green eyes trying to decipher what he meant as he continued on, "two shootings. Someone is targeting us." He paused briefly, " They want the camp."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden sound of vehicles approaching. Troy must've recognized them, as he and another member of the group pushed the gates open when the vehicles came to a stop at the entrance. 

One was a black 4 door pickup truck that appeared to have a few supplies in the back. On each side of the truck were two people, each perched on what appeared to be motorcycles all dressed in black. 

"Motorcycles? Really?" Alicia scoffed, "That'll attract some of the infected, seriously do they not think." 

Jake smiled, partly because he agreed that the motorcycles do attract noise and thus, the infected. "Tell that to Lex and Marie, they'll tell you to stick it." He laughed. "The militia heads out every morning to clear out any infected within a 5 mile radius. We're safe."

"For now." Alicia murmured under her breath before making her way with him towards the gate. The arrival of some of the other camp members definitely piqued her interest. There were only about 30 people at the ranch, and most of the people she had seen so far were either dead or trying to kill her. Not that it made a difference. They had just as much to fear from both the dead and alive. 

 

The crowd had parted to the sides as Troy and some of the militia moved to the truck, where there were two men cradling the body of a man, and a woman who appeared to be applying pressure on his would. They helped carry out the injured man into the infirmary. The drivers door opened, and a brunette haired girl with olive skin complexion jumped out. She was wearing a grey tank and some dark jeans, her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. From the other side, a male jumped out sporting a black V neck and dark jeans. His thick dark brown curly hair messy and long almost reaching his brown eyes. 

Jake smiled and ran to the brunette haired girl who returned his smile as they embraced. The curly haired man moved to stand next to her as he scanned the environment. 

Jake pulled back, his blue eyes scanning the girl for any injuries. "What happened?"

"We were on a supply run on our way back and some crazy bastards started shooting at us." The girl said as she pulled back to slam the door shut. 

The man made his way to the back of the truck and started throwing some bags over his shoulder, nodding towards Troy to help with the supplies. 

"How many water bottles, Robert?" Asked Troy as he scanned the supplies that were being brought. 

"If you ration accordingly, a few weeks maybe. We'll get more" said Robert. Robert turned to the two figures perched on their motorcycles just as they were pulling off their helmets. 

The first was a green eyed girl, with an olive complexion and long brown hair that fell over her shoulders. She stood placing the helmet on the motorcycles handle before pulling off her jacket and helping Robert and Troy with the supplies. 

Alicia looked back towards the infirmary, the sounds of people quickly working on the injured man rang loud. 

Jake made his way back to Alicia with the girl trailing after him. Alicia straightened up. 

"Lindsi, this is Alicia. She's new here along with her family." He paused and looked at Alicia before continuing, "Alicia, lindsi. They're part of the main base"

Right as Alicia opened her mouth to properly greet her, the green eyed girl rushed into Jake and threw her arms over him as she cackled in laughter.

"I finally see you after years!" 

Jake grunted, a smiled forming across his lips as he pulled her into a hug before releasing her. "It's been like two weeks relax," he nodded towards the girl who had just let him go. "This one is Marie"

Marie greeted her with a smile, asking how she liked it here so far. 

"Could be worse." Mumbled Alicia, still uncomfortable with how calm and collected they were acting given that someone in their group were shot on their way here. 

"I'm gonna go check on Mike." Said Marie as she pulled Lindsi with her and headed towards the infirmary. Some of the people must've recognized her since they all greeted her with smiles. 

Jake turned, just as another figure approached him. Jake greeted her with a nod as the girl approached him, but her eyes were trained on Alicia's eyes. 

Alicia looked from Jake to the piercing blue eyes that were staring back at her. Her blonde shoulder length hair was tussled, a red streak on her left side. She sported some dark jeans and a black leather jacket that accentuated her body nicely. Not that Alicia looked at that or anything. It was definitely the number of weapons this girl had attached to her body that led to Alicia scanning her body. But what struck her was her azure blue eyes. Against her pale ivory complexion and the dark clothes, her eyes stood out. 

"Lex, this is Alicia. New members." Grunted Jake as he moved a little to the side so the blonde could walk up to Alicia. "Alicia, the head of the camps."

The blonde smirked slowly, her hand slightly outstretched so Alicia could take it. Alicia hesitated but reached out, not expecting the blondes hands to be so soft. 

"Alicia," she said, testing the name in her mouth. "Pleasure meeting you gorgeous." Her Australian accent evident as she took in the tall brunette with piercing green eyes in front of her.

Alicia felt herself flush at the comment, before pulling back. 

The blondes smirk grew even wider, if possible. 

"I'm Elyza, Elyza Lex."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments kudos etc are very much appreciated, thank you guys!


	3. we live by faith and not by sight

_Elyza Lex_

Alicia gave Elyza a small tight-lipped smile, forcing herself to break the eye contact she was holding with the blue eyed Aussie who had yet to look away as well. 

Jake subtly cleared his throat and Elyza finally tore her eyes away from the green eyed girl to Jakes, taking note of his awkward stance between the two women. Elyza didn't fail to notice how Jake kept his eyes on Alicia the entire time. "Right, well, we should go check on Mike." 

Jake nodded and begin pulling in the gates to close the camp. Elyza locked eyes with Alicia's verdant ones again before giving her an enigmatic smile and pushing the other side of the gate to close. 

The crowd that had gathered around had already dispersed, and went about their daily duties. Troy and Robert had grabbed all the new supplies they were going to ration and were at a cabin discussing what had transpired on their way here. 

Jake and Alicia followed Elyza towards the infirmary. 

Elyza excused herself and pushed inside the infirmary where it was all too quiet. Jake plopped himself down on the ground and Alicia leaned against the cabin under in the shade. It was about twenty minutes before they heard anything. 

The girl with the ponytail from earlier made her way out of the infirmary, her tear streaked face evident with her eyes slightly red and her grey tank top blood stained on her abdomen. She looked down at Jake before shaking her head softly. 

The meaning was clear. Jake sighed. Jake clenched his fist, unsure if it was from anger or his hope was starting to fail him ever since the world had gone to shit.

"Can you let me borrow a shirt? We didn't plan on stopping by until tomorrow so we have nothing extra". Lindsi nudged Jake with her foot, "Lyza wants to stay the night. I think we all need the rest." 

"yeah sure, I'll be back leash," Jake stood and looked at Alicia, who replied with a nod. Lindsi and Jake headed towards her cabin.

A few moments of silence passed when Alicia suddenly jumped at the sound of a gunshot coming from inside the infirmary. Without thinking, she rushed inside to see what had happened but ran straight into Elyza who was placing her gun back into her holster, a solemn look plastered on her face.

Alicia apologized briefly before taking in the scene around her. Her eyes narrowed at the somber expressions everyone had on their faces. 

Jeremiah and the medical helpers all stood by with their heads slightly downturned away from the body on the cot in front of them. Alicia looked down at the body, a boy no older than her age probably. His hair was matted down and slightly long and grimy, there were dark sunken eye bags under his eyes. She couldn't help but wonder what color his eyes might've been. 

"We had to do it or else he'd come back."  
Elyza's voice tinged with a sadness, echoed in the room, the silence was heavier than usual.

Alicia tried not to focus on the gun shots on the body. instead she felt herself turning around, pushing past the group towards the door. 

The air felt heavy and tense, it felt too much. The reality of how much easier losing ones life could be weighing down on her. The events of killing Andres suddenly infiltrated her mind. She needed to forget about it. If she thought about it, she'd cry and if she'd cry, she wasn't sure when she's stop. But there was no time for crying. 

Alicia didn't even make it halfway back to her cabin when she felt a hand softly grab her elbow in an attempt to stop her. With the thoughts of Andres still fresh in her mind, the deaths of Chris, Travis, Matt, Susan, thoughts of her lost future, on impulse, Alicia pulled away from the arm and snapped it back, effectively elbowing the person in the stomach.

A small groan escaped Elyza's lips when Alicia's elbow connected with her stomach. 

"Christ, love, that was one bloody good hit but I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry" Elyza immediately pulled back into a respective distance between them. Clearly the girl had a lot on her mind and didn't hear her coming. 

"Sorry," mumbled Alicia, "didn't hear you."

"No worries, gorgeous. You certainly succeeded in impressing me," Elyza smirked,"I'm a sucker for a pretty girl who can defend herself" Elyza chuckled, noticing Alicia's face flare up slightly in a blush.

Alicia cleared her throat, pressing her lips together. "Can I help you with anything?" 

"No. You just bolted out of there so fast I wanted to make sure you were okay." Elyza cocked her head to the side a little, scanning Alicia's face and eyes.

"It can get a little tough out here. Frankly, I'm not sure how I've not lost my bloody marbles yet." Another slight laugh escaped her lips, and Alicia found herself forgetting to respond until she took in Elyza's expectant look. 

"I, uh - Fine, just needed to get out of there."

Elyza nods slightly and turns to look onto the camp. Jake was walking towards them, his brows furrowed in concentration as he secured another rifle onto his back. 

"Your boyfriends coming back. I'll leave you to it."

"Not my boyfriend," said Alicia as she rolled her eyes. "I just asked him to teach me to use a gun." 

Elyza crossed her arms, and gave Alicia a look, her eyes twinkling with amusement, and a small smile crossing her face. "Right. I can read people pretty well you know."

Alicia scoffed. "You don't know me."

"But I'd love to, Alicia -" Elyza paused, before slightly tilting her head, her hair falling to the side exposing the red streak even more. Her brows furrowed slightly. "I don't know your last name."

"Clark." 

"Alicia.. Clark." Elyza muttered, seemingly almost to herself as she tested the name slowly on her lips. 

Alicia's lips twitched in a suppressed smile, her last name sounding a bit funny because of her accent. "Clark." She corrected, emphasizing the roll and click of her tongue, so soft and almost prayer - like.

Elyza's eyes flashed, allowing the way Alicia said it to wash over her with something close to familiarity. 

Elyza couldn't quite put a finger on what exactly it was she was feeling but the moment was interrupted by Jake, who had asked Elyza a question just as he had approached.

Elyza gave her head a subtle quick shake before regarding Jake. "Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you wanted to join us. Alicia wants to learn how to shoot so we're gonna head out away from the ranch so we won't attract too many walkers."

Elyza shook her head."I've got some things to attend to, i'll leave you to it. Be careful." 

Alicia looked at Elyza, unsure of the disappointing feeling that washed over her. If she sucked at her first attempt to use a gun she definitely didn't want Elyza there. Alicia didn't need any more people doubting her abilities.

\-------------------------------------------------------  
The rest of the day passed quick. They buried Mike in the graveyard behind the farm that was built for those who didn't survive. Elyza had spent the day in a meeting while Alicia had spent it firing off her frustrations through a gun. She had hit a few, but with more practice she could definitely be better than this. 

The sun was barely setting, illuminating the sky into a fiery red evening. The August air weighing down on them with tranquility and stillness, almost as if the world was still normal. Alicia and Jake made their way down to camp, securing their rifles on their back. The silence was awkward and Alicia didn't know why. It stretched on a little bit longer before Jake finally spoke. 

Jake slowed their walk by just a second, wiping his hands on his jeans. "Do you want to come over?" A timorous hand made its way to hers and laced them together and pulled her to a full stop.

"Jake, I -" 

A sudden gunshot emanated from the camp interrupted Alicia's response. Jake pulled her into a sprint towards the camp. There was a rambunctious crowd gathered in the middle of the camp. Lindsi Ricky Marie and Robert, as well as a few of the camp militia were holding the crowd back.

In the center was Troy and Madison, along with a few other men, shoeless and bloody. their clothes were dusty and dirty, feet dark from the dirt and blood splattered on them.

Jake and Alicia pushed their way through to the front of the crowd. "Mom?" called out Alicia. 

Elyza was in the center, talking to a blonde woman with shoulder length hair, wearing a black outfit. Her eyes were cast down, and she was nodding at everything Elyza was firing out. When she was finished, the woman gave one final nod before cutting through the crowd and jumping into one of the vehicles. 

The crowd was loud, and disorderly. Madison was rapidly whispering to Troy, who kept a serious expression as he eyed the crowd surrounding them of them. 

Gretchen's father, Vernon, a tall bulky bald man, pushed forward as well. Ricky had his arms spread across making sure no one jumped into anything. 

Vernon stood his ground with all the pushing behind him, fists clenched at his side and nostrils flaring. " You can't just show up, shoeless and bloody and expect us not to be worried. We have family here, kids."

"We have a right to know what is going on." yelled out another woman from the crowd.

"And you will know what is happening." Interrupted Elyza with a guttural shout that immediately silenced the disorderly crowd. "But first we must figure out how to fix this, fast. If you could all just sit in the covered eating area, Jeremiah and I will convene so we can let you know the full extent of our plans to protect you all. I wish to inform you all thoroughly, not partially."

The crowd stood quite for what seemed like too long before they reluctantly dispersed and headed to find a seat in the eating area. Small chatter began to fill the air, and Alicia pushed her way to her mothers side.

"Mom-"

"Not now leash, go sit down." without sparing a look at Alicia, Madison nudged Troy to follow Jeremiah into his office. Alicia pulled her arm back and turned her to face her taking note of the dark eye bags and the cut on her eyebrow. Her neck slightly red, as if someone had strangled her.

Before she could question it, Madison interrupted her. "Don't. It's nothing. We volunteered to go again this afternoon, the people at the outpost a few miles downhadn't responded to the radio calls. I have to get Troy to trust me Alicia."

"Is he the one who choked you?" The disgust was evident in Alicia's tone. They had only known Troy for a few weeks now, but Jake and him were complete opposites. 

"It wasn't liked that." Her voice lowered in an attempt to not let anyone else hear. Troy had already walked into the office along with Jeremiah, Robert, and Elyza. "Come."

They made their way into the room, where Elyza was pacing back and forth, brows furrowed in concentration,. "And your certain his name was Wallace?" 

Mike nodded reluctantly, Troy to the left of him was still, jaw slightly clenched as he was looking out. Jeremiah sat on his desk, as he pulled a beer to his lips seemingly not caring about the situation at hand. 

"He said if we don't evacuate within the month, we die."

Elyza stopped, and looked to Robert who looked slightly pale, the stoic ness in his face making it hard to decipher just what he and Elyza were communicating through there eye contact. He was standing perfectly still by the window, chest slightly puffed out as if waiting for orders. "Tell Rick we are reinforcing the surrounding borders and I want guards at every hour surrounding the camp. We'll switch off. I am not letting them take this camp."

Robert nodded before heading out. 

"We need to attack," said Troy, seething with what seemed like anger. "Now."

Madison nodded, "We need to protect our people."

Jake shook his head, "We can't. I don't know why they want us to leave but the best we can hope for is to negotiate with them. There has to be something other than violence." Jake looked to Alicia, "Or we're all going to die in a war that could easily be avoided." 

"Easy?" scoffed Elyza, "we've worked hard at having and maintaining this camp. There is nothing EASY about leaving what I've worked for. We do what we must to survive. I'm not letting that bloody fucktard take another thing from me." 

Alicia's brows slightly furrowed as she cocked her head at that comment, But Madison had made her way to Troy. Jeremiah sat, staring out the window. 

Jake sighed, "Elyza, we can't just attack them. It's wrong."

"This isn't the old world." Elyza pinned him with a look, "be less cautious and the world now won't hesitate to not give you a fair go mate."

"We do what we must to survive," echoed Alicia, Elyza's words resonated in her head. 

Crystal blue eyes met forest jade ones, and Elyza swore she couldn't pull away from her eyes. She was stuck in a trance of forest green colors for a bit before, Jake cleared his throat.

Madison and Troy had been quietly discussing something that was too low for anyone to hear. 

Jeremiah, noticing Alicia eyeing them, shuffled in an attempt to look normal, before responding. “They don't got the balls to do anything to us."

Madison's eyed flicked to Jake before briefly looking at Jeremiah and Troy. Troy headed towards to door, jaw clenched in anger.

“This is bullshit.” The bitterness of Troy’s words echoed, as he slammed the door shut. Madison sighed, and followed him out soon after.

"Jeremiah, the crowd is waiting." sighed Elyza. Jeremiah nodded subtly before getting up and heading towards the door. 

Elyza started pacing again, lost in thought.

Alicia remained behind, taking note of the girl in front of her who seemed not much older than she was. Her leather jacket had several scrape marks around it, a belt buckle tied diagonally which held a rifle behind her. Her black jeans were tight and emphasized he body quite well, the knives all secured around her body, a dagger at her waist, two throwing stars on her left thigh, Alicia couldn't help but stare.

Deciding to break the barrier, Alicia moved her way fully inside the room and sat on the couch to the right of the room, allowing a space so Elyza could sit.

She stopped, seemingly noticing that Alicia was still there. "Yes gorgeous?" A smirk began forming just as Alicia had started to roll her eyes. 

"You let them handle the crowd."

"Didn't notice." The playful sarcasm was evident in her voice but Alicia was having it.

"Why."

"I take care of the background shit cupcake, I let Jeremiah deal with the people." Elyza. began slowly pacing again, tearing her eyes away from the jade colored eyes that felt like they were penetrating her soul. 

"You know Wallace." Alicia intoned. 

Elyza stopped pacing and swallowed harshly, her body slightly froze up. Turning to face Alicia, Elyza decided to sit next to her instead. 

"You observe before you speak. You actually listen, I like that." 

“Yeah well, I’m always kept in the background.”

Elyza nodded softly, her eyes drifted to Alicia’s. “Your mum treats you like a child. I noticed it, I was watching you two when we came in.”

A sort of uncomfortable feeling settled in the pit of Alicia’s tummy, reminding herself that trust must be guarded, not freely given, Alicia shakes her head. “Don’t change the topic.”

Elyza groaned, throwing her head back onto the wall. “Look, there’s just someone I know from my past named Wallace. He can’t know I’m alive.”

“You let Jeremiah handle the crowd, but you basically tell us what to do.” 

 

“Yeah, I like control sometimes. Mostly behind closed doors.” Elyza opened one eye to take a peek at Alicia, her eyes looking anywhere but at Elyza, cheeks flushed red. Elyza let out a raspy giggle, before standing up. “We should probably go get some food. I’ve not eaten since yesterday.”

Alicia stood, stared heading towards the door. “What are you going to do about the people attacking us?” 

“We have a month. gonna father heaps of petrol to see if we can either hear you all up or bring you to our camps a few miles out.”

“will we even fit?” Alicia grabs one of the smoked on Jeremiah’s desk before following Elyza out. 

Elyza cocks a brow at Alicia getting the pack . “How old are you?”

Alicia scoffs, rolling her eyes before putting the pack in the back of her pants. “Old enough.”

“Right right,” Elyza smirks at her, they start walking towards the eating area. 

They can see the whole crowd gathered around Jeremiah, Madison and Troy just outside the crowd deep in conversation. Alicia catches onto this again, making a mental note of it. Surely her mom was cooking up a plan. 

“When do you turn 18?” Elyza continues. The sun had already set, bringing out a blanket of stars above them. the warm air caressing Eliza’s face as her eyes shut close briefly before looking back at Alicia.

“Couple weeks, but who knows. We might all be dead by then.” The second the words leave her mouth, Elyza pulls her to a stop. Alicia hesitates before looking back at Elyza, her eyes so blue, so crystal clear. She almost forgets why she was stopped. Alicia swallowed harshly before looking back to the crowd, her body still turned towards Elyza.

“Don’t say that,” Elyza says harshly, “I’m going to keep you safe.” Alicia looks back at her, but before she can respond, Elyza clears her throat and looks towards the crowd that had dispersed. “We’re going to survive. We’re gonna live.”

Elyza takes one last look at Alicia, who gives her a soft shake of her head, before heading towards where Jake was standing next to Madison and Troy. Elyza couldn’t help it, the knot in her throat tightens and when she swallows, it feels like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments good or bad welcome, this is my first fic so excuse my writing, i’m back on track.! come send me an ask on my tumblr if anything! commanderlextragriffin.tumblr.com!


	4. gunbitch training

It was early the next day when Alicia made her way to ranch center. Elyza had left to talk to Robert, Lindsi, and Marie who were quietly making their way to a cabin at the entrAnce of the ranch. Alicia had tried to talk to her mother again about the missing envoy, but Madison refused to talk about it. Instead, she made her way back to her cabin, irritated. If there was one thing she hated, it was being treated like a kid.

Alicia was eating cereal, when Jake made his way towards her and sat down across from her. His hair was tussled, and he had slight dark eye bags that made him look slightly older than his age.

“Morning,” He said, placing a bowl in front of him. “Want to go shooting in a bit? The more practice, the better”

Alicia nodded. If she was to be safe she had to learn how to handle a gun. “Do you think it’s safe?” She slides her empty bowl to the side, and rolls up the sleeves of her flannel.“Wasting Ammo if we have a month to leave, I️ mean.” 

Jake mulled over the question while he took a bite. It was risky, but if anyone needed to learn to defend themselves - it’s Alicia. She was capable. 

“You’re good,” He said. After a while, Jake stands, picks up their bowls and gives them to Gretchen who was serving a bowl of cereal to a kid. 

Alicia and Jake make their way to the Armory, a small cabin filled with various guns and weapons situated next to Jeremiah’s, where Elyza and a few others are. Alicia can’t help but notice Elyza and Lindsi huddling together discussing something quietly. When Elyza notices the two figures approaching, she smiles at them, locking eyes with Alicia and pushes Lindsi away. Lindsi gives Elyza an offended look and rolls her eyes.

Alicia smiles at the girl but looks away towards Lindsi who’s now staring at her, lips pursed and an eye brow slightly cocked. 

“Top of the morning folks,” Elyza attempts to say in an overexcited husky southern yet so australian accent. Lindsi laughs and elbows Elyza in the rib. “Glad you you join us. We will be providing lessons for a few residents in case all goes south.”

“That’s actually why I️ wanted to talk to you,” Jake looks at Elyza then back to Alicia. “Alicia should learn to shoot properly. She trained a little yesterday but I think she needs her own weapon. I️ know we need to arm people but she would be good to have.”

Elyza eyes him, then looks at Alicia. After a few seconds, she nods. Jake leaves towards Robert to choose a gun, and Elyza takes this chance to make a comment. 

“Cute and, once you learn, can shoot a gun? Sign me up.” She laughs, noticing Alicia rolling her eyes but doesn’t fail to notice the smile that came with it. 

“I’m cute regardless.”

Robert and Marie grabbed a few guns and rifles, a copious amount of handguns and a few rifles that Alicia couldn’t really recognize. High school didn’t really prepare her for lessons in firearm use during the end of the world. 

Lindsi and Elyza grabbed a few knives and daggers to pass out. A few residents had volunteered to be trained to at-least have some basic knowledge on weapons despite Jeremiah having calmed them down the night before.

They made their way out just outside the camp gates. Elyza, who was trudging ahead with Robert and Ricky, stood, allowing the crowd to walk ahead of her. She slowed to a stop until Alicia, who’d been pacing alone in the back, catches up to her. 

“You okay there gorgeous?” It’s sincere, her tone of voice is soft, making a flurry of something move in Alicia’s stomach. 

Alicia pushes it aside, and gives a slight nod. Maybe she was just craving human contact, but she had that with Jake, didn’t she?

Elyza must’ve sensed Alicia’s internal rumination and didn’t respond, insead simply maintaining her pace with Alicia’s. A comfortable silence settling between them. 

After a few miles of walking, the crowd a few feet away stopped. The weren’t as close to the ranch but not to far to be seen.

Elyza stops her, and hands over a rifle, throwing the strap around Alicia’s body. The earmuffs on Elyza’s waist were suddenly on Alicia’s head as she fixed it on her, making sure none of Alicia’s hair caught onto the headset. Elyza gives her the orange eyeglasses to put on.

“Safety first.” Elyza says in a low voice, fixing the strap around Alicia’s body so it could adjust to her height. 

Alicia stills at Elyza’s proximity, but allows the girl to fix the safety gear on her. As Eliza fixes the strap of the rifle, Alicia catches Jake’s eye a few steps away as Robert was going on about the safety of a gun. Jake looked between Elyza and Alicia, seemingly connecting something in his head. He purses his lips and gave Her a nod before turning back towards the empty field. 

“Place the butt of the rifle just below your clavicle, try to balance the weight. It will help you with aiming. Plant your feet firmly on the ground.” Elyza let’s go if the strap slightly, allowing Alicia to adjust to the weight of the rifle. “Generous but slight bend at the knee so you can push off into a run, worst case that is.”

“I️ did this yesterday,” Alicia rolled her eyes slightly. “I️ remember.”

Eliza chuckles and let’s go entirely, letting the weight of the rifle pull Alicia slightly forward but not before catching herself and balancing the weight of the rifle in time. 

“Ass.” Alicia mutters, positioning the rifle appropriately. 

“Look at you,” She crosses her arms, “I’ve known you one day and we’re there?” Eliza laughs, “Not the first time someone calls me that within the first time meeting, one time it happened within thirty minutes of meeting.”

“Oh yeah? They got annoyed that fast?” 

“I️ mean, we made out about an hour or so after that encounter.” Elyza shrugs and pulls on the ear muffs that were around her neck.”Just wanted to make sure your boyfriend knew what he was doing. Wouldn’t want a pretty face like that to go to waste. I’d want you protected.” 

The thought of Elyza kissing for some reason painted a light blush over Alicia’s high cheekbones. She let out a soft breath, realizing she was holding it in and hoped to god Elyza didn’t see the slight rosy pinkness spreading through her neck and ears. 

Elyza moved a little behind Alicia, leans down a little to tap the side of her knees. ”Loosen these sweetheart, generous bend in the knee but keep your feet planted.”

Alicia loosens her knees but before she can ask a question, Elyza takes a small step closer. Close enough that Alicia can feel her. Elyza places a foot between Alicia’s, tapping her toe against the side of her boot to signal her. 

“Spread your legs sweetheart.” Elyza’s husky voice vibrates through the air and permeates itself into Alicia’s spine, sending inexplicable chills.

“Wh - What?” Alicia falteres slightly, her fingers sweating from gripping the rifle,m and from the heat - whether from the actual temperature or the flush that spread through her body at Elyza’s words she didn’t know.

Elyza reaches over, softly curling her left fingers, soft and gently, over Alicia’s left side of her waist. She waits a second in case the touch is unwelcome, when Alicia doesn’t immediately react, she taps the right side of Alicia’s waist. “Your legs,” She says, “Spread them.” Her voice strong but still low just enough for Alicia to hear.

Alicia feels her body flush red, she cranes her neck slightly before Elyza proceeds to push Alicia’s stance wider with her foot, throwing Alicia off guard. 

“Wider stance Darling.” Elyza smirks and pulls away, in order to assess the girl in front of her. 

“Oh,” Alicia quickly turns back to the empty field in front of her, fingers sweaty from tightly holding the rifle. “Thanks.”

“Cheek on the comb love, lean against the rifle so the recoil won’t be as bad.”

Alicia, after taking a second to compose herself from whatever it was she just felt, breathes in deeply, planting herself further into the ground to aim. The gun felt heavy, a certain fluttering feeling threatening to rip out from her tummy. She almost felt scared of it, how easy a stray bullet could kill anyone. But the weight of it felt familiar, like she was ready. 

“Shouldn’t I have something to practice with?” Alicia swallows the small fear in her throat, hoping Elyza didn’t catch onto the small lilt in her voice.

“We’ll get you tin cans later, I want you to first be comfortable with it. Shoot at nothing for now.” Elyza steps to her side pulling on her earmuffs for protection. “Now, breathe. And press the trigger, don’t pull.”

Elyza cranes her neck towards the line of people all aiming their handguns and rifles in the same direction. She makes eye contact with Robert, who gives her a nod signaling everyone has been given instructions. 

“SHOOT.” Roberts voice bellows out.

The popping and cracking discharges of a variety of firearms explodes in the air, tearing through the quiet . It was loud, and for a second Elyza did worry about the sound. 

Alicia felt the recoil against her shoulders before even realizing she shot. It didn’t hurt, like yesterday, if anything it stung because it caught her off guard again. Pressing the trigger again, Alicia shot off into the distance a few more times before putting the rifle down.

Alicia turned to her surroundings, making sure to keep the rifle facing towards the field. The gun didn’t feel too heavy anymore. A certain confidence ran through her body. Jake was shooting a couple more times as he passed his rifle to one of the girls from the camp. 

Jake looked up and gave her a smile. Alicia returned it, but turned to find Elyza, with her arms crossed, her fingers nervously tapping at her elbow, just staring at her. An unreadable expression on her face. 

“How did that feel?” Elyza’s voice cracks slightly, “Er - Are you comfortable with it?”

“I can handle a gun.” 

Elyza bites her lip nervously, but nods. Alicia was always quite the observer, noticing the little details but she didn’t question the nervousness she thought she saw in Elyza. 

Robert, who was a few feet away, throws some tin cans on the floor next to Elyza. She leans down picks one up, twisting it in her hands. Slowly, with what seemed like slight hesitance, she looks up to Alicia’s forest green eyes.

“Then let’s get you some targets.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Alicia and Elyza spent the next few hours shooting at particularity nothing. Alicia, after an hour wanted to stop knowing having ammo was crucial with their camp being threatened but Elyza assured her they had enough. 

It was around four when they had decided to stop. Elyza has complained about wanting food, so everyone had decided they were done for the day. Tomorrow, they would be learning some hands on skills since they weren’t only going to be dealing with the infected. 

Alicia was making her way to her cabin to change when Jake pulled her to the side of her cabin, gently pushing her against the wall of it. The rough wooden surface tangling some of Alicia’s hairs. 

“Jake, what -“ She didn’t get to finish that sentence. His lips were on hers, gently but with hunger. Alicia pushed him away softly, confusion in her face because Jake wasn’t this forward. 

“Come to my cabin.” 

“No, I can’t, Jake,” Alicia steps around him, flattening down her flannels. “I have to shower and I need to talk to Elyza and my mom.”

“Oh,” He says, a sullen look on his face. “Later?”

Alicia searches for something in his eyes. She knows this is casual. She likes him, but she doesn’t LIKE like him. He knows she doesn’t want to date anyone, that it’s impossible to have anything real. That they need to focus on surviving. The world was shit, how could they ever have a normal relationship.

Alicia sighs, “I’ll try, okay?”

Jake nods and let’s her go, instead turning to his cabin a few houses down. Alicia instead turns to her cabin to jump into the shower before heading out to look for Elyza again.

It’s only about an hour or so later that Alicia heads over to Elyza’s cabin. There’s no way she would just sit around doing nothing while her mom is doing god knows what. She hated being treated like a kid, and the problem with the people attacking the camp needs to be solved fast.

Elyza’s cabin was right next to the entrance of the ranch. It was small, but enough for a few people to fit in. Lindsi and Marie had decided to stay with Elyza. Robert and Ricky were on the opposite side of theirs. 

Elyza was hunched over a maps sprawled across the middle of a table centered at the far end of the room. Two sets of bunk beds on each side of the table and another table across from one of the bunk beds and a sword. Lindsi and Marie were sitting, whispering to one another on one of the bunk beds. 

When Alicia knocked and pushed her way in, Elyza didn’t look up. Instead, she pulled out another map from her back pocket, arranging it to create a connection between one of the maps.

Marie and Lindsi immediately noticed Alicia and stood up. Both giving her a smile before walking out of the cabin. Alycia walked towards Elyza, but when she turned back to look at the girls she didn’t fail to notice Lindsi and Marie quickly looking away from where they had been staring. 

Well, it wasn’t the first time she had people saying things. Alicia was pretty popular in high school but she couldn’t please everyone. There would always be haters.

Alicia stepped towards the round wooden table Elyza was focused on. A candle was in the center, illuminating Elyza’s face, bathing her in an orange glow. The ambience was quiet, peaceful. For a second it felt comforting if it wasn’t for the worried expression on Elyza’s face.

“There’s no way around it.” She murmured.

“Around what?” Said Alycia casually, making Elyza twitch a little in surprise. 

“Jesus, fuck.” She said as she threw her hands across her face to cover it. “I thought you were - “

“Yeah, your friends left the second they saw me. Don’t think they like me.”

“Aw, who wouldn’t like you,” Elyza gives her a cheeky smile, as she starts gathering the maps into a pile quickly. 

Alicia felt her cheeks heat slightly and chooses to ignore the comment.

“Right, um, yeah. So,” Elyza adjusts her position and sits on the table. She removes her leather jacket, setting it gently on the table next to her, almost as if it were a baby.   
“Can’t get this one scratched or nothin’, gotta look spunk for the ladies. Everyone loves a leather jacket.”

Elyza let’s her head drop to the side, revealing the small red strand on her left. It’s at this moment that Alicia takes in Elyza’s physique. She was lean, and only an inch or two shorter than Alicia. Without her jacket, she looked like a regular young adult. She was wearing a dark charcoal tank top, her black jeans tight against her body. She crossed her arms, and her toned arms became more obvious. She had a dirt stain on her neck, a light sheen of sweat most likely from the heat in the room. Alicia feels that weird feeling again in her stomach but chooses to ignore it.

“Not me.” Alicia scoffs.

“Give it time sweet cheeks.” 

“You are awfully cocky for the end of the world.” 

“Exactly, it’s the end of the world love. Why deny ourselves the simple pleasures in life.” Elyza shrugs.

“There’s no going back from this,”Alicia looks up to Elyza who’s staring at her intently. “This is it. This is all there is.” 

Elyza’s brow furrows, realizing that Alicia really doesn’t necessarily hold out hope for life these days. “There’s so much more to it. This isn’t it for us.” She pauses, waiting for Alicia to look at her before continuing. “We deserve better than this, Alicia.” 

Alicia feels it. The warmth, the familiarity running through her veins, seeping itself into the very cells of her being. She allows it to wash over her, basking in it. It’s a sort of comfort she hasn’t felt in quite a while and Alicia doesn’t fail to question it at the moment. 

She also doesn’t fail to notice how Elyza’s voice was an octave higher. Whether of nervousness or something else, she didn’t understand.

Elyza cleared her throat and started arranging the maps on the table again.

“There’s no way to get around Wallace.” Elyza sighs. They had to face them if they didn’t want to give up the camp, and Elyza would rather die than do so. She worked for this.

Alicia steps around to her side to look at the maps scattered across the wooden table. There were about three maps, but only one of them had pinpoints. 

“These,” Elyza points at them, “are the other camps. We’ve set up a system where we all trade from one another and maintain somewhat of a balance. We used to be all together in a gated community but obviously there will be assholes who try to take it so we split it between us all. Jeremiah had the form so crops and all that was this camps priority.” 

Elyza grabs a marker from her back pocket and circles a spot on the map, about 20 miles east of where Broke Jaw ranch was at. 

“This is Wallace, the outpost is ten miles east from here, then another 10 and it’s Wallace.” 

“I don’t understand. Why don’t we just make a deal with them, trade with them or SOMETHING to stop all this violence.”

Elyza stiffens slightly, and let’s put a long sigh. “Because.”

“What does he want?” Alicia crosses her arms. “I can tell you don’t want him to know you’re here. Why.”

“Poor bloke just wants resources, or maybe he’s wanted a camp all along. I don’t know Alicia.” She doesn’t make eye contact with Alicia. But she isn’t stupid, she knows there’s more to the story. 

“Elyza,” Alicia steps a little closer to her. Elyza has begun pacing in an attempt to avoid making eye contact with Alicia. “we either give the camp up and move to another one or we can make a truce.” 

“There are people here, Elyza,” She continues, “kids.”

“I know that.” She says through gritted teeth. “I know these people they’re dangerous, whether we leave or not.”

Alicia stays quiet, allowing Elyza to realize that she admitted knowing Wallace. Elyza stops pacing and keeps her eyes downcast. A pregnant silence filling the room until Alicia speaks.

“How do you know them?” 

Elyza sighs, shaking her head slightly. Her tousled bleach blonde hair moving with it. 

“Long story.”

“Why don’t you go talk to them?” 

“I -...” Elyza doesn’t finish her sentence because Robert runs into the room, eyes wide. 

“Fires,” He runs into the room, searching for something under one of the bunk beds until he pulls out a fire extinguisher. “They lit fires all over the camp.” Robert runs out, and Elyza groans. 

“These bloody fucking bastards jesus, fuck.” Elyza pulls on her jacket and looks towards Alicia who is frozen in spot. “Wait here.” 

Elyza leaves out running, yelling out a litany of insults and leaving Alicia with so many questions.


End file.
